The Last 24 Hours
by Warrayfinson
Summary: After a what was supposed to be an easy mission that nearly cost the lives of Tohsiro and Momo, one will live, and the other can only live for the next 24 hours. Who will live? And what will happen in the next 24 hours? Hitsuhina, hints of Ginran.
1. Prologue: When the Clock Hand Ticks Over

**AN: Hey everyone!**

**Long time, no fanfic! XD So here's another Hitsuhina fanfic. I've had this idea for a while, ****but there were a lot things going on in my life and I was having this massive debate on an essential part of the plot. Anyway, I've made up my mind and I now know what I am going to do.**

**I apologize in advance for any OOCness you may find, I was never good at keep everyone in character, but I try my best.**** Also for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes _ ;**

**Hope you guys enjoy this first chapter! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own this ice cream, this spoon, this bowl, these drawings I'm currently working on, this page of 'If the Shoe Fits…', this laptop and that floorboard over there, Tite Kubo owns BLEACH and it's characters.**

The Last 24 Hours

**Prologue: ****When the Clock Hand Ticks Over**

"Shiro-chan, you're late!"

The white haired captain simply rolled his eyes at the statement made b his childhood friend. "Were you called here too, bed-wetter?"

Momo flushed at the nickname. "Yes, I was. What do think this is about? Did you detect that hollow this morning? I wasn't even sure it was there because it's presence disappeared so quick. I wonder if we're being called in about it. I knew you were coming, but I didn't know about anyone else."

At that, Toshiro turned serious. Knowing the old man it was probably a mission. He'd sensed a hollows presence earlier, but he presumed that someone had been sent to eliminate it, as it's spiritual pressure was gone within a few seconds of making itself known to the captain. It was a few minutes later that he had received a message from a hell butterfly to meet at the first division assembly hall.

His eyes focused back on Momo. She suddenly looked nervous, as if she wanted to say something. "Um, Hitsugaya-kun-"

"It's Hitsugaya-taicho."

"-I just wanted to say thank you for your help with my division's paperwork. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't help." She smiled gratefully at him.

His eyebrow twitched. He remembered how that had come to be. _'Why the hell didn't she ask? If I hadn't caught her up late last night, _she_ would be the one who was late.'_ "How did you end up getting so much paperwork?"

"It's my recovery," she said "I've been having a few headaches after I was let out of the twelfth division, so I've had to have a nap every now and then. Recently, I haven't been getting many headaches, thank goodness. I haven't been able to get much work done, sadly. However, I'm just glad to be out of bed and walking around. I'm glad I can talk to everyone, and that a lot of burdens have been lifted from my shoulders."

Toshiro inwardly winced at the last statement. She had had so many burdens, so many he wished he could have lifted for her and carried them away. He knew how heavy they were for her, he had had some burdens of his own.

Those burdens had become considerably lighter.

Still…

…they were there, dwelling on the edges of his heart and mind.

"Hitsugaya-taicho and Momo-fukutaicho."

Both shinigami turned towards the old captain. They both bowed. While Momo said "Yamammato-Sotaicho." Toshiro said "Commander."

"This is an urgent mission," Yamammoto continued as they both rose from their bow. "I trust you detected a hollow's presence this morning?"

"Uh, yes," Momo said with a nod.

"I thought it had been eliminated," Toshiro spoke up.

"No, we hadn't sent anyone to eliminate it. However, from what we can gather in the lower districts of the Rukongai, this is a powerful hollow. It has moved off from the Soul Society, but is still a growing threat. We asked you, Hinamori-fukutaicho, and you Hitsugaya-taicho, to deal with this threat. I realise that you have recently come out of recovery, Hinamori-fukutaicho, but your abilities in kido will be of some help. It would be wise to take some of your division members with you."

"Where was the hollow last detected?" Toshiro asked.

"It is off in the north-east from the Sereitei, that is all we have been able to identify. Dismissed"

With that, both shinigami bowed once again and left. They both agreed to meet at the hisagashi daishoheki (sacred eastern wall).Toshiro flash-stepped back to the tenth division barracks, and requested a few of the higher seated member join him. He went to his office, not surprised to find his lazy lieutenant dozing on the couch with a bottle of sake slowly sliding from her grasp.

He sighed impatiently as he felt a vein throbbing out of his forehead. "Matsumoto…"

Rangiku didn't wake up. Instead she grasped the sake bottle tighter in her hand and brought it to her chest and hugged it as if it were a teddy bear. "My…My sake….Ugh…"

"Matsumoto!"

She leapt up into a seating position with a start. She yelped as she saw her captain standing at the other end of the couch clearly annoyed. "Taicho, you scared me!"

"That's what you get for sleeping on the job," he grumbled.

"But a girl needs her beauty sleep!" Rangiku further exclaimed. "And what if when I jumped out I became exposed? My boobs would have popped right out and be seen by the whole world!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you would have done that if it were someone else here," Toshiro continued to grumbled. "Anyway, we have a mission…"

After explaining the mission, Rangiku became serious. "I felt the hollow presence as well. If everyone in the Sereitei felt it, then this must be a truly powerful hollow." Rangiku rushed to her quarter's and grabbed Hanieko, and then met her captain and the other division members at the hisagashi daishoheki. It wasn't long before Momo arrived with a few fifth division members. They set off beyond the Soul Society to the forests that bordered around the Rukongai.

They slowed down to a walk, keeping their eyes open for any signs of the hollow. None felt the presence of a hollow, and there wasn't any evidence to suggest that anything had been through the forest.

However, Toshiro was on the alert, completely in tune with his surroundings. His icy turquoise eyes scanned all round him, trying to find any clues. His hand was dangerously close to Hyourinmaru's hilt, ready to draw his zanpukto out at the sight of any hollow. His steps were light, his feet ready to leap into the air if he had to.

"I don't see anything," Momo spoke up quietly. "Do you think…it would be best if we split up?"

Everyone stopped turned to the fifth division lieutenant and tenth division captain in front of her. Seeing as the white haired captain seemed to be the leader of the group, they left it for him to decide.

"I think Hinamori has a point," Rangiku said. "We'd cover more ground that way, and one of us is bound to find the follow. How about me and Momo and" –she pointed to of her division members –"you two come with us. Taicho, you take the rest with you. We'll head off in the north and east, you can take the south and west."

Toshiro frowned. He trusted Rangiku, but with Momo having just recovered, he didn't want to leave her life in the hands of chance. What if the hollow just suddenly came out of nowhere and ambushed them? Could he take this chance? Then again, Rangiku was pretty observant, and she'd be able to detect the presence of the hollow from a mile away. While he'd come to a decision, he couldn't get over the feelings and thoughts running through his head. He sounded like he didn't trust anyone in his own division with Momo, except for himself.

"Fine," he agreed "Should one of us find the hollow we'll use a kido signal to alert the other group. Everyone stay with your groups and don't move away…" He was directing the last part particularly at his own men who were with Rangiku and Momo. His gaze turned into a glare at the two men who were to accompany the lieutenants. "Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" they all said with a slight bow, with the two men the captain had been glaring at giving a slightly nervous tone away in their response.

With that, the two groups left off in separate directions. All was quiet in Toshiro's group, everyone too afraid to say anything in front of the captain. Rangiku was starting up conversations as if her current situation wasn't at all dangerous.

"You know I'm surprised taicho agreed to the idea," Rangiku said putting her hands behind her head and leaning back slightly.

Momo looked to the overly-relaxed lieutenant. "What do you mean, Rangiku-san?"

Rangiku grinned and closed her eyes. "Come on, Hina-chan! You know what I mean! I thought taicho would have wanted to go with you and have me go with the others…but he's being as stubborn as ever." She muttered the last part to herself, but Momo heard her.

She felt a small amount of heat in her cheeks. "I'm not sure that completely true. Hitsugaya-kun knows I'll be okay, and I'm perfectly fine to fight. But, I…"

Rangiku opened one eye to look at her friend when she trailed off. The strawberry blonde's grin dropped. She was surprised to see a thoughtful and sad look on the girl's face. "Hinamori, are you okay?"

"I just wish that I could protect him just as much as he has done for me," she whispered. She looked to Rangiku again, a smile stretching across her lips. "I'm just glad that I can see him again and that we can move on from the past. I was always worried that he'd find the air awkward between us after the winter war."

"Awkward? Why awkward?" Rangiku questioned.

"Well, it's just…for a while I thought he had meant to stab me." Her hand rose to the place where Hyourinmaru had sliced through her. All that remained of that fatal injury was a thin, pale scar. "I was silly, though, because it was when you and Shiro—I mean, Hitsugaya-kun, finally came to visit me that I thought 'Why would he stab me and hate me when he came to see me?' I found out from the twelfth division that you and he came to check on me regularly. That only made me realise how much of a fool I was to suspect he has meant to stab me. It was an accident, I know that now…"

Rangiku smiled. Then she sensed the gaze of the two men behind them. She turned her head ot them. "If you two say a word about this conversation to taicho-"

"Heh, we already know about that," one of them said rolling his brown eyes.

The other scratched his head. "Yeah, it's not like it's a secret, you know. Everyone practically knows about-"

At that point Momo felt something slap over her ears and the voice of the tenth division member became muffled. She looked to either side of herself, seeing Rangiku had her hands over the Momo's ears and the blonde's head was still turned to her division members. Momo heard Rangiku's voice exclaiming something, but she couldn't make it out.

'_Why doesn't she want me to hear?'_ Momo thought, bowing her head in confusion. _'Or more like…What doesn't she want me to hear?'_

After a moment Rangiku removed her hands from the girl's ears.

She heard something louder and clearer than any of the muffled conversation, which had now stopped…

…once the howl had been unleashed.

The howl of a hollow.

Rangiku's hands left Momo's ears, a shocked expression on her face as she looked forward.

Momo followed her gaze, feeling a jolt of surprise run through her once her eyes met the sight in front of the group.

How could she have not noticed it before?

There, in a large clearing, was the hollow. It was huge, its height reaching above the trees around them. Its skull, bull head was bowed down, the yellow, pupil-less eyes staring at them. The rest of its body was that of a snake, with white, bony, gleaming scales coverings it from the neck to its three tails that split off half way down the belly. The spiritual pressure it radiated off itself was incredible.

It let out another howl, causing the group to draw their zanpukto. Rangiku cringed under the deep bellow, but ran forward with Haineko in hand. Momo and the men followed in suit, ready to strike down the hollow. The hollow swiped out its tails to the oncoming shinigami. Rangiku and Momo gasped and reacted just in time, barely dodging the tails. However, one of the men weren't as lucky. He was sent flying away from the area once the tail smacked him in the stomach.

The lieutenants and last tenth division member were separated at great distances. Momo found herself at the edge of the clearing, while Rangiku was right in front of the hollow. Rangiku dodged another attack from one of the tails f the hollow. Mid-air, she called out to Momo "Alert the other group, Hinamori! We'll take care of the hollow!"

With that Rangiku jumped the ground once she had land again and released her shirkai "Roar, Haineko!" Her fellow division member also went in to attack the hollow. It bellowed loudly and swept its tails to the attacking shinigami. One of the tail neared Momo. She was quick to dodged it, landing in a nearby tree. _'I won't be able to use __Tenteikūra if I have to keep moving around and dodging the tails. I'll have to make it obvious, or else Hitsugaya-kun won't be able to see it. I can only think of one…'_

Rangiku sent the cloud of ash towards the hollows head. It growled in pain and thrashed around violently, causing one of its tails to hit the other division member. He was sent flying and hit a tree, landing on the ground unconscious.

Momo started to run around the edge of the clearing, avoiding the tails of the hollow. She aimed her palm at the sky and began to chant. "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hado number thirty three, Sotak-!"

Suddenly, the wind was knocked right out her.

She felt a huge pain and across her shoulders and back. She was sent flying to a tree.

One of the tails had hit her back, interrupting the incantation.

Quickly reacting, Momo put her feet first and felt them connect to the tree. She pushed off from the tree, sending her flying toward the hollow aimlessly. Rangiku saw this, and too distracted, released the hold Haineko had over the hollow's head. With its head free, the hollow snapped its head towards Rangiku. She flew backward, dodging the jagged, sharp teeth, but not able the miss the attack from the tail that came from behind. It coiled itself around her waist, causing her to cry out in surprise. Before she could struggle out of its grasp, the tail was sent slamming into the ground.

"Rangiku-san!" Momo cried out landing behind the hollow. She saw the tail uncoiled itself from the lieutenant, leaving her limp, but conscious, body in the crater it had created. Momo quickly drew out Tobiume. "Snap, Tobiume!" The zanpukto's shirkai form emerged and sent a fireball at the snake hollow. Much to the lieutenant's shock, it easily dodged it, twisting its body away from the explosion of fire.

Its tail attacked her from behind, wrapping itself around her neck and lifting her into the air. Her hand let go of Tobiume, the zanpukto falling to the ground. Her hands clawed at the scales trying to release herself. She wildly gasped for air.

Her vision was fading and her lower limbs were going numb.

Something was pulsing through her neck.

Her eyes...were slowly closing...

"DAIGUREN HYOURINMARU!"

Another howl from the hollow, but this one was of pain.

The pressure around her neck was released.

Blood flowed to her lower limbs in a gush, just like the air that reached her lungs.

There was a large weight in her chest, where her heart beat wildly.

She felt her body falling, but was then stopped by something icy cold.

She regained consciousness of the situation and her eyes focused on the white and blue colours before her eyes, which were taking the forms of her rescuer. "S-Shiro…chan? How?" Her voice sounded hoarse and rough, she barely recognized it.

He briefly looked at her. "I saw Tobiume's attack and sensed a high spiritual pressure. Are you…able to stand?"

Momo realized she was in his arms, against his chest and on the ground. She felt a small blush in her cheeks, seeming to have completely forgotten their current situation. She leaned forward, quickly standing up from her previous position. "Eh, yes…I-!"

A loud 'crack' and howl sounded next them. Both looked back to the hollow, which was fighting off the fifth division members. Toshiro quickly joined the fight, leaping into the air and leaving Momo to look on. However, the tenth division captain didn't expect the hollow to knock off the shinigmai so quickly and turn its bull head towards him. A look of pure rage sparked in its soulless eyes as it went up to met Toshiro's oncoming attack.

It was then that Momo noticed that one of the tails had been cut off, the one that had been choking her. However, that wasn't her main concern. She looked to her childhood friend, who was fending off the hollow. She raised her hand to the hollow, suing what little strength she now had in her to shout. "Hado number four, Byakurai!"The blue-white, lightning beam burst from her finger and struck the hollow in the back. It growled and snarled at the kido graved deeply across it's back, and turned its attention away from the white haired captain, to the surprised lieutenant.

She thought she'd aimed it to go through its center, but it moved to fast.

Toshiro saw the attack before it came.

"Hinamori!"

He leapt over and stood in the air in front of Momo.

The hollow lunged at him, its eyes only on Momo.

Horror gripped her…

…but not tight enough to make her completely frozen to the spot.

"SHIRO-CHAN!"

It all happened so fast, but for them, it was as if time had slowed.

There was a sicken 'crack'.

They hit the ground.

Toshiro was the first to realise what had happened. There was a weight on top of him, and something that was bleeding and painfully hurting in his back. His whole body felt like it has been crushed under a truck. He weakly attempted to push the weight off his chest.

He opened his eyes.

They widened in horror as they saw what the weight was.

He his mouth opened in a silent scream.

He didn't see the hollow come in for a second attack, its head diving straight for him and…

…the completely crushed and bleeding Momo.

Something stopped it.

He didn't look up to see who was calling his title and Momo's name.

He lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><em>Hours later…<em>

Rangiku looked out at the scene all around her. The fourth division had arrived not long ago and were tending to the wounded, including herself. A small cluster of the fourth division were sent to go look for the tenth division members that had been whacked away into the forest. Just the thought of it made her feel sick to the stomach, something that was unusual for her. She was usually able to stomach anything, but in her weak and tired condition, she was only able to watch and go on her first reaction.

She wondered how the Soul Society knew about the distress they were in.

Before they arrived, she was on the brink of collapsing from trying to dodge and attack the hollow when captain Kenpachi and the eleventh division came. They slashed down the hollow, but surprisingly, it had also taken them a lot of effort. The hollow was gone now, and the only evidence of its existence was the injured shinigami's and destroyed areas of forest nearby.

Her eyes fell to the fourth division members surrounding her captain. He was unconscious and had been injured badly. She knew if she hadn't blocked the attack that it has aimed at her captain, he would have been lucky enough to have survived. She had the strength to flash step away from the hollow tails after she had been struck down before. She could only watch, though, as the hollow went in to snap its jaws around Momo, intending to eat her whole. Toshiro attempted to block Momo, but she leapt up…and protected him instead.

Or at least…that's what she thought she was doing.

Toshiro had taken most of the damage. She watched in revulsion as it sunk its huge teeth into his body and one into Momo's. She remembered seeing their blood dripping to the ground, it made her feel sick again. With them still trapped in its jaws, the hollow flung the two bodies away. It was then she had gathered the strength to go in and attack before it could kill them with the second assault it was intending to do to them. She'd called out to them, but neither responded.

"There, Rangiku-fukutaicho."

She looked back to her injured arm, seeing it was now completely healed and the yellow glow that had once surrounded it had vanished. She flexed her fingers and bent elbow, testing out her healed arm. "Thank you" she said with a brief smile.

Hanatoro left her to tend to Momo's healing. Rangiku felt her back connect with the tree behind her, finding that it was giving her the support she needed. She sighed, only able to look on as her comrades were being healed.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho?"

Rangiku shook her head and turned to the captain who had called her name. "Unohana-taicho…" She realized why she had come to her. "How are they…doing?"

The smile left Unohana's face, crumbling to a saddened expression. She came and knelt next to Rangiku, looking at her in the eye as she spoke her next words. "I'm afraid…it was much worse than we had thought. We are healing their external injures so that we can safely move them back to our barracks. Hitsugaya-taicho's injuries are deep and I am surprised he is alive. His organs will have to go under intense repair. Hinamori-fukutaicho…we are not sure. While her injures are not as bad a degree as Hitsugaya-taicho's, we noticed that her neck had a puncture mark in the side. We are still trying to determine what that is and if it will be fatal. I fear…"

"What? What's going to happen?" Rangiku exclaimed. Her sense of panic and worry was surged the moment the last three words had come out of the fourth division captain's lips.

Unohana looked back to her squad members as they healed the injured shinigami. "When we found them, there was this strange substance found in their blood. From what Isane-fukutaicho could tell it was a venom. I believe that this venom has come from the hollow. Whether we will be able to rid of the venom's effects I am not sure of, but it is unlike any other venomous substances I have seen. I fear that…one of them will die."

Rangiku gripped the front of Unohana's haori with her newly healed hand. "Which one? I know you know who it is, don't hide it. Who is it?" She didn't realise how distressed and panicked she had become. Her emotions caused her act out the way she had just done. Inwardly, she knew this, but was too distressed to care.

Unohana shook her head and sighed. "At this point I cannot be sure, Matsumoto-fukutaicho."

Within a few minutes the fourth division was ready to move the injured shinigmai to the barracks. Once there Rangiku never left, waiting in grime hope that neither of them was going to die. _'Please, taicho…the Sereitei needs you, Momo…taicho needs you. So please, both of you, live. Live and don't fall from this world…'_

**So, what do you guys think? Things will start to pick up next chapter, so stayed tuned!**

**Again, thank you for reading. If you have time, reviews and comments are greatly appreciated :D**

**Keep writing!**

**-Warrayfinson**


	2. First Hour: Awaken to the End

**AN: Hello again everyone! :D**

**So here's the next chapter for the story. If the updates don't come as regular as you'd like them to, my apologies, it's because school has just started up again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own this packet of pretzels, this nervous feeling I have about classes tomorrow, these ears that are listening to 'Anthem of the Angels' by Breaking Benjamin at the moment, the ideas for this story and this USB, Tite Kubo owns BLEACH.**

The Last 24 Hours

**First hour: Awaken to the End**

His turquoise eyes fluttered open.

He was surprised that his vision was so clear.

The skin of his neck and face were cold, something that was unusual to him even though he always knew his skin was slightly colder than everyone else's.

Toshiro's first thought was to sit up. He did so, but his joints and muscles ached, causing him to groan as he did so. He knew his surroundings. He was in the fourth division again. The curtains were drawn back, revealing the golden rising sunlight that lit up the room. He looked over himself seeing, he was fully healed and only a few scars remained.

That's when it all rushed back to him.

The hollow, the two groups, the attack…

To when he turned his group around when they saw Tobiume's shikai attack in the air.

To when he rushed in and saw the hollow's tail around her neck.

To when he…found her crushed body on top of his and losing his consciousness.

His eyes widened and he quietly gasped.

Toshiro cringed as he realized that Momo was probably here too. In the back of his mind he prayed that Unohana had managed to help the girl, and that she had helped her before she had helped him.

He felt a strange weight in his chest. With slow movements, he brought his hand to the place where his heart beat. He looked down seeing a faint scar starting from his collar bone and ending under his armpit. His finger came up and lightly traced the scar from the start to the finish. He frowned, realizing that Unohana's healing never left a scar unless it was a serious and deep injury. What had happened ot his heart?

"Oh, H-Hitsugaya-taicho!"

The young captain looked towards the door of his room, seeing the silver-purple haired lieutenant of the fourth division standing there with a surprised expression. He spoke up in a quiet voice. "Isane?"

"Eh, yes sir! I…I'll go get Unohana-taicho. Please wait a moment!" And with that she ran down the hallway.

Toshiro couldn't help but note the nervous tone in her voice. What was going on? Had something happened? Did it have to do with him? Or with…Momo?

The latter thought made him cringe again. He ran his hands through his messy white hair in nervousness and frustration. If he had failed to protect her again, if he had failed…_her_ again…

* * *

><p>"Hinamori-san?"<p>

She stood there.

"H…Hinamori-san?"

She bowed her head. "So, this means, I…" Her hand fluttered to her chest, over her wildly beating heart. Her heart had bet like this since the moment Unohana had started telling her about what had happened to her and Toshiro. She explained to her…what was going to happen.

"I…I see."

Unohana stepped forward to the saddened girl, and gently placed a comforting hand on her quivering shoulder. "Believe me, I will try. I will try everything I can…"

"Why…Why me?" Momo questioned to herself, not expecting the fourth division captain to hear her.

Before the woman could respond, Isane ran into the room. "Unohana-taicho! H…Hitsugaya-taicho has woken up….What…should we do?"

Unohana looked from her lieutenant back to Momo, who was now looking at Unohana, her gaze only pleading. "Please…let me see him. I…Don't tell him, please!"

The older woman shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. He must know. It would be wrong of me to not tell him, even if he will hate me for it." – She turned to Isane. "Isane-san, please take care of Hinamori-san while I go tell Hitsugaya-taicho of the current situation."

Momo couldn't believe this. In her shock and panic she flung herself forward grabbed onto Unohana's haori. She lost her footing and her feet collapsed under her, leaving her only means of support on the fourth division captain. "Please! Please let don't tell him! Please!"

Isane was quick to act and pulled Momo away from Unohana. Unohana, though sorrowful for Momo, was quick to leave the room. The girl didn't resist, giving up and letting herself go limp in Isane's grip.

However, her mind was fazed and unfocused. She had so many thoughts running through her mind, so many possible scenarios of how he would react…

* * *

><p>"Hitsugaya-taicho?"<p>

The said captain quickly looked up from his lap. He knew immediately this was bad news. He could see it in Unohana's eyes. In her solemn, sad expression…he saw that she was the bearer of bad news.

"Unoahana…what happened?"

She woman stepped inot the room, coming up to the boy's bed side. "Much has happened, Hitsugaya-taicho. I have done…everything I possibly can. I will continue to try and find a solution, I promise you that."

While his neutral face did not show it, in his mind, he was dreading more and more what was going on. His voice almost betrayed him as he whispered. "What are you talking about?"

It was moments of terryfing silence before she spoke again. "The hollow that you encountered had venom within it that not even Kurotsuchi-taicho has seen anything like it. The venom was found in both yours and Hinamori-fukutaicho's blood. When we tried to extract it…we discovered it's a alive. It moved away and clung to your bloods. It's living venom, far beyond what we know.

" However, with the help of the twelfth division, we were able to gather this much. According to Kurotsuchi-taicho's calculations, this venom will live outside of the hollows body for a certain period of time. Once it is within its victim it will stay inside and slowly take the life away, leaving the victim to die a slow death by clinging to any organs.

"When we brought you back to our barracks, we were able to find a way to extract the venom. We used kido, and it worked to rid the venom from yours and Hinamori-fuktaicho's blood. However…we were not able to extract _all_ of it. When it attaches itself to the organs, it will not move, and it was too risky to do such a dangerous process with such vital organs. The heart is where it's currently clinging too…"

His eyes widened and he nearly gave away his true feelings. What did she mean by that? Did she mean that it was currently residing in one of them? No…No this couldn't be happen! He'd…He'd failed…

Sensing the increase of reiatsu from Toshiro. Unohana quickly continued. "As I said before, the venom slowly kills the victim, and it can only live for a certain period of time. I…I am sad to report that…between you and…Hinamori-san…"

No, no! This isn't what he wanted to hear! '_No…please stop'_ his thoughts cried out. His hands clung tighter to the sheets that pooled around his waist. His knuckles turned white and his hands trembled. He couldn't bear to hear her say that Momo was…going to die!

* * *

><p>'<em>Why? Why me?'<em> was all Momo could think. She sat on her bed, Isane having left minutes ago to attend to other business. Th girl shook her head, unshed tears threaten to fall. _'Why do I deserve this? I should be…I should be…Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't we just…go back to how things use to be, Shiro-chan?_

'_Why did things…have to end up like this?'_

* * *

><p>The next words that left her lips were spoken in a strong but saddened voice.<p>

It was these words that would either break his heart or his soul.

"Hitsugaya-taicho…you only have twenty-four hours to live." 

**So now we know! Momo shall live on, but Toshiro only has 24 hours…what will happen in that time? Find out next chapter :D**

**Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated**

**Thanks for reading**

**Keep writing**

**-Warrayfinson**


	3. Second Hour: Denial

**Hello everyone! :D**

**Thanks for the comments and reviews on the previous chapter :) So here I present the next chapter, hope you all enjoy it. **

**Oh and ****SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 392 AND EPISODE 293**** IN THIS CHAPTER! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.**

**Disclaimer: I own this laptop, this USB, this fuzzy hair, this idea for the next chapter, this USB lid and these headphones, Tite Kubo owns BLEACH.**

The Last 24 Hours

**Second Hour: Denial**

His whole world froze.

Nothing moved.

Nothing made a sound.

Not even the small clock outside his door way –which read seven ten in the morning – ticked.

There was a leering silence over him. In the room, and in his mind, nothing moved or made a sound. He wasn't able to take in the information that had just been given to him.

Unohana bowed respectfully and sadly said "I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-taicho. I will try everything within my power to help find a cure before the twenty four hours are up. Please…excuse me." And with that the fourth division left Toshiro with his thoughts, or lack of.

Almost a whole hour had passed.

He didn't move from his spot.

Nothing seemed real anymore.

He couldn't take in anything that had just been said.

He couldn't take in…his fate.

No, this couldn't be right. He was…going to die?

There had been incidences where he had thought about death. Before he became a shinigami, he didn't really think about the topic too much. It was only when Rangiku visited him that night and he realised that in his sleep, he was killing Granny. That's when it started. He started thinking about what death was.

While training in the academy, there were times when he wondered if the very same kido would one day end his life. He dismissed the thoughts as nervousness of the exams or of his training. He again started to think about it when he became a captain. He realised he'd take on a lot of responsibilities, such as protecting the lives of those around him and of the human world.

Granny had always told him that a life was a precious gem, a beautiful artefact of the world that should never be played with or corrupted. The lives of Granny, Momo, his division and Rangiku, mattered to him the most. He didn't feel anything when he thought about their deaths in his head. It was only when…it became a reality that he realised what it felt like.

He remembered his feelings as he lay dying after Aizen's attack. While Aizen had been right about the attack not being enough to kill him, he knew all too well that he had struck an area of Toshiro's heart. When he…When he…

….When he ended Momo's life…

His icy heart was breaking from the moment he saw her impaled on Hyourinmaru. It was only fully broken though when he fell to the ground and lay there, watching the battle unfold. He didn't care about the battle. The whole scene kept replaying in his mind over and over. He couldn't stop it.

He realised as he recovered after the winter war just what death felt like.

He had been on verge of it.

Before that happened, he was fearless and didn't care if he didn't die in battle. He would die with pride and honour still intact. That experience though…it made him fear death just a fraction. He thought he was a fool for it, so he trained. He trained and got stronger. Got so much stronger, in not only his fighting, but in his courage against the fear that, even though so small, had haunted him in the back of his mind. He still didn't fear death, but he feared _dying_…

And now…that was what was happen. No, it couldn't be…He didn't feel like he was dying. His ears must have been deceiving him. Unohana must have been mistaken. She could make mistakes, right? Surely she didn't know every medical answer known to man!

Yes…she had to be wrong!

They must have been mistaken, all of them!

Yes that was…it was Momo who was going to die. Yeah, it was definitely…her.

The shock and horror ran through him as he realised what he was thinking. He looked at himself as if he were some kind of horrifying monster, a creature damned for hell. He scrambled and kicked the sheet away and fell from his bed. He was quick to stand up on his shaking legs and lung for the door.

His thought were racing and bashing against each other. One side said Momo was the one to die, and that side was _glad_ that she was. It was a side that was engulfing him. But instead of completely warping out the side of him that was glad Momo would live, the very side of him that was disgusted with the thought he had conjured by in his room, it submerged itself into the other side. It twisted its shock and horror into hatred and anger.

He had to get away from here.

He had to get away from…the truth.

No, it was all lies, it had to be!

This wasn't how it was suppose to end!

THIS WASN'T-!

He didn't know why….but he stopped. He stopped in the doorway of a patient's room. He panted harshly and sweat was sliding down his face. His eyes were crazed and wide as he saw who stood there looking out the window of the opposite wall.

She turned around, the shock evident on her face as she saw who stood at the doorway. "S-Shiro-chan?"

He didn't move, leaning against the doorway's frame flaccidly. Momo was quick to approach him. "Shiro-chan, what are you-?"

He smacked her reaching hand away. She flinched back and winced, gently grasping her now bright red hand in the other. Small needles of pain stung her hand, making her wince again. She was frightened by the glare he was giving her. She stepped away further, unsure of what he was thinking. She was speechless, unable to mutter a word.

"Why?" he raggedly said. "Why me? Why isn't it going to be you? Why do you deserve this chance to live, and not ME? Answer me!"

This wasn't like Toshiro at all. He'd become something of a desperate, pleading boy…This Toshiro scared her. She could stare at him with her wide, brown eyes. She understood what he was saying. She knew about…just how long he would live for. He had hours ….

_Hours…_

Hours to live…

That thought scared her to the point where the tears reformed in her eyes. He had been living for _years_, and now…it was only _hours_ before he would die. She wish she could have protected him from this. Their roles had been reversed. He had protected her, again…But this time, it really did cost him his life.

"Hitsugaya-kun…I…I don't want this either, but…I-"

He collapsed on the ground, yelping in pain and clutching his chest tightly.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" She ran to him with urgency and speed. He looked pale and there was more sweat pouring down his face and neck. His eyes were tightly shut and his teeth were clenched together in pain.

Toshiro didn't resist her as she put an arm around him and carefully pulled him over to the bed. He groaned as she sat him down on the edge, making sure he was able to sit upright. He was hunched over, still in pain.

Momo knelt in front of him. "You shouldn't have ran, Shiro-chan!" she cried in panic.

He winced at her high pitched voice. She lowered her voice and continued in a whisper "Unohana-taicho told me you can't afford to increase your heart rate. If your heart beats rapidly, the venom clings tighter around your heart. And the more your heart beat keep rising, the worse it'll get, until you won't be able to move.

"I don't want that, Shiro-chan…I really don't. I know it's hard, I know it's…painful, but please, please, _please_…don't go just yet. Don't give up. Unohana-taicho and Rangiku-san haven't. Unohana-taicho is trying to find a cure, and Rangiku-san is waiting for you back in the barracks. She's been working very hard since you-"

She stopped when his head collided with her shoulder. It rested their, the sweat of his forehead soaking into the shoulders of her robes. His whole body was quivering from exhaustion. She felt his warm breath on the exposed areas of her neck, he was breathing almost normally now. She didn't do anything except stare at him in worry. His hand was still placed over where his slowly calming heart bet.

She hesitated at the idea that had formed in her head.

She went through with it, feeling a tiny bit bold.

Over his sweaty hand, she placed her soft, warm one on top. She felt him flinch slightly, but he didn't make any attempt to move her hand. She wanted to smile, but found that her face couldn't do as she commanded.

Her fingers slipped through the gaps between his spread out fingers. She came into contact with his robe and some of his exposed cold skin. Under her fingertips she could feel his heart, slowly coming to a lower rate.

She closed her eyes reflectively.

Her mouth spoke on its own with words that she wanted to keep within her mind.

"…Don't give up on this heart yet…"

She realised what she had said but made no surprised attempt to take it back. She just opened her eyes and looked straight ahead. She had meant those words. She'd meant their meaning. The meaning being that his heart could not go on by itself. It had to have a will to go on. He had to _will _it to go on, to keep beating. She'd meant them so much that some part of her had wanted to say the words louder so she could make sure he heard her.

But even in her whispering voice, he had heard.

It made him think about his actions and words from just before. He felt disgusted at the pit of his stomach. He couldn't believe he had been thinking such things. It made him like something that was lower than a human being.

…He had wanted her die instead of him…

He shivered at the thought. It was chilling. Very chilling. Morbidly chilling….

But yet…he knew she knew why he had done what he had. She always knew. It scared him how well she knew him. She knew that he was in panic. He was panicking. That he was in disbelief and shock. That it was those feeling alone that had led him to do what he had done.

"How do you know?"

She jumped hearing his voice. She turned her just as he turned his. He peered at her with one turquoise eye; the other was still buried in her shoulder. He kept his normal expression. His white eyebrows were frowning, his lips were in a thin, straight line, and his eyes seemed cold and rid of emotion. To her though, they had a hidden emotion at the back, something he didn't want her to see.

She spoke up, realizing the silence had gone on for too long. "How do I know what?"

He blinked. "...It's nothing." _'How is that you know just what to say in moment like this?'_ was what he wanted to say, but it only remained in his head. That in itself made him think about the _hours_ he had left to live. He knew that by now he had wasted too much time. If this was to be...

If this was to be the last day of his life, so be it!

Even though he had accepted his fate, there was still a sense of depression in the back of his mind. It hadn't fully taken over him only because of Momo. Her scent, the warmth that radiated off her, the smile that now spread across her lips is what kept him plunging into despair over the acceptance of his death. It was hard to believe those moments before, he had been thinking such foolish thoughts, and now here he was, leaning on her, and wanting nothing more than to get up and go with her to live what would be the rest of his life. 

**Ending's a bit cheesy XD And I think I may have gone a bit too far with Toshiro's character in this chapter. However, I think anyone would be like this when they find that they're gonna die. What do you guys think?**

**Please review and comment if you have time, every word is always appreciated ^^**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Keep writing!**

**-Warrayfinson**


	4. Third Hour: Trial and Error

**AN: Hey everyone!**

**Sorry that this is late, my school life took over and I had a lot of assessment to do. Man, after so much stress, to write this is a pure relief. Thank you for all your reviews and comments on the last chapter, they got me motivated to write the next chapter :D**

**I had originally had this written up a while back, but because of all the confusion and stress I lost my USB and now I have a new one. I've had to re-write all of this, but it's worth it :)**

**Thank you and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own this new USB, this laptop, this eyelash in my eye *whips it away*, these fingers typing on the keyboard, this chair, the hairs on my head and this itch on my arm, Tite Kubo owns BLEACH.**

The Last 24 Hours

**Third Hour: Trial and Error**

"Are you nearly done, Shiro-chan?"

"Almost…"

Momo sighed and leaned back against the wall outside of Toshiro's hospital room. It had only taken her a few minutes to change out of her hospital gown and into her shinigami uniform. Toshiro was still getting changed, she hoped he wouldn't be any longer…

Her brown eyes wondered to the clock that was ticking on the wall. It was nearly ten o'clock, about twenty minutes away. They hadn't moved for long time. They stayed in the pose with his head on her shoulder, just looking at each other. The world and time around them didn't exist.

They were in a world of their very own.

She wished that that world could exist.

A world where he wasn't dying and she hadn't known what the pain of heartbreak was.

Heartbreak for losing who she admired, who she saw as father-figure in…

She shook her head out of those thoughts, not wishing to dwell on those memories. Just as she was about to call out to Hitsugaya again, the said boy slid the door open of his hospital room and stepped out. He adjusted his haori, saying "And how many times do I have to tell you? It's Hitsugaya-taicho! Seriously, when are you going to start calling me by my title?"

Momo thought about that, pausing before she looked back at him. Today was…even though she knew that it was his last day, it was still something she was uncomfortable expressing, even in her own mind. That wasn't the point though, what she thought was about the fact she rarely called him by his title.

Maybe for today, being his…last – she shuddered at the word inwardly –she should call him by his title.

A strange, childish determination filled her. She looked at him with this determination on her face. "Alright, Hitsugaya-taicho!"

He was clearly surprised. He hadn't expected her to actually start calling him by his title.

"I think we should get going, Hitsugaya-taicho!" she said rather loudly and pointing down to the end of hallway.

As they made their way down the hallway, Momo pumped her fists in the air and repeated "Hitsugaya-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho!" over and over again. On the outside, it looked like she was in a marching band and had gone crazy, but inwardly, she was just trying to memorize what she was going to be calling Hitsugaya today.

She couldn't afford to make a mistake and call him 'Hitsugaya-kun' or 'Shiro-chan', she didn't want him to be upset or annoyed.

When they were outside of the fourth division, she stopped and turned to Hitsugaya. _'__Okay,__I__ think__ I__'__ve __had __enough __practice__…__let__'__s __see __if __I__ can __do __it!__'_ she thought.

"What was that back there?" Hitsugaya asked with a raised eyebrow.

Momo blinked. "What do you mean, Hitsugaya-taicho?" '_Yes,__ I__ did __it!__'_

"You were acting crazy back in there," he said, his voice almost sounding like it was suppressing a chuckle.

Momo hadn't realised how she had looked on the outside to everyone, she was only focused on memorising her childhood friend's title. She realised how stupid she must have looked. "Oh no, I must have been embarrassing! I'm sorry Hitsugaya-taicho!"

His resumed his neutral expression, but was inwardly surprised that she had managed to still keep his title at the end of his name. "Let's just go, bed-wetter…"

Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment "Ah, don't call me that! I'm not calling you Shi…by your nickname!" '_Phew,__that __was__ a __close __one!_ _I__ wonder __if __he__'__s __testing __me__…'_

He ignored her and just walked out of the courtyard. Momo followed, wondering where he was going. "Where to, Hitsugaya-taicho?"

"My office, I have paperwork to do."

Even at a time like this he was still concerned about paperwork? Momo was fuming. "What? How can you think about paperwork? Besides, I'm sure Rangiku-san did it already!"

Toshiro looked at her incredulously. "You should know by now Matsumoto will _never_ do the paperwork. The only thing on her mind is sake…If she even has a mind after drinking so much."

'_I__wouldn__'__t __be__ so __sure__'_ Momo thought _'__Because __of __the __current __circumstances,__ I __think __she__'__ll __be __more __serious.__'_

* * *

><p>"Heeey, gemme that saaake!"<p>

"What? Noooo, nooooo, nooooo…..wait, what was I talkin' about?"

"Give her the sake already!"

"Fiiiine, anything for yoooou, sweety!"

'_What__ did __I__ tell __you__…' _Toshiro thought as he stood in the door way of his office with a twitching eyebrow, a popped vein and a surprised Momo. He'd told her that this would happen, but she had remained optimistic and stuck with her view that Rangiku wasn't drunk and was sitting at her desk writing and filling out paperwork. That image had now obviously been shattered…

He watched as Rangiku took the sake bottle off a drunken Renji from across the table. She raised it to her lips…but she didn't drink from it. A drunken confusion spread across her face. She lifted the bottle away and shook it upside down. Not a drop fell from the bottle.

Hisagi, Kira and Renji let out loud, obnoxious laughter. It was as if they had played the greatest practical joke on Rangiku. Rangiku glared at them, still not taking notice of the glare she was receiving from her captain in the doorway.

Her glaring grey eyes found another bottle, full to the brim and in Hisagi's grasp. He was about to take a swig from it, and Rangiku came up with a plan. She grinned deviously and almost laughed at her 'ingenious' plan.

"Hey, Hisssssagi-kun!"

He turned to the drunken female, bottle lifted halfway to his lips. Renji and Kira didn't pay attention, still laughing from the practical joke.

Rangiku gave him a sly but suggestive look. "You don't play fair, you know? All I wanted was a little bit, but you won't" – she slowly straightened up –"even" –she leaned forward, her breasts deliberately pushed out further than usual - "give me" – she stopped when she was only centimetres away from him. –"a single" – she licked her lips –"drop."

His face bright red and his wide eyes staring at her most visible area; Hisagi fell backward as a jet of blood ran out of his nose. Before the sake bottle went with him, Rangiku snatched it from his grasp and fell backward onto her own couch. She giggled and chugged down the sake with relish.

Kira and Renji blushed and had watched the whole, thing, almost having a nosebleed themselves. They looked towards the door, horror shifting onto their faces as they realised who was there. They made signals to Rangiku, who continued to drink and just frowned at them.

Toshiro was fuming, there would have been steam coming off him any second now because he was so angry. Momo was stunned and a faint blush was apparent in her cheeks. She was about to raise her concern, but Toshiro bet her to it.

"MATSUMOTO!"

The said lieutenant jumped and screamed in surprise. The sake bottle in her hand went flying in the air, and landed in the collapsed Hisagi's lap.

Kira and Renji made a run for the door as they felt the drop in temperature in the room. Hisagi, still dazed and drunk, remained on the ground unmoving in Toshiro's way. Toshiro stepped over him towards his drunk lieutenant.

Momo quickly scurried over to Hisagi and hooked her arms under his elbows. She hurriedly dragged him from the room, worried that Hitsugaya would freeze him to death with the glare that he was giving Rangiku.

Rangiku knew she should have been scared, but she was drunk. So instead of a look of absolute terror and fright, her eyes were filled with tears and a joyous yet pained look spread across her face. "T-T-T...Taaaaaaaaaaaaaichoooo!"

She clumsily leapt forward, about to crush the boy in a tight, suffocating embrace. "You're all better taicho! I'm sooooooooo happy!"

However, she was left running on the spot singing praises, not noticing that his hand had slapped against her forehead and was the only thing preventing her from hugging him. He was surprised by her reaction, expecting her to be running from the barracks in fear.

She finally stopped complaining that she couldn't reach him and looked up to her forehead to see his hand there. She stopped running and pulled her arms back to her sides with a sigh. "Taichoooo...I didn't think you'd be up and about!"

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya glared at her again. "Why the heck do you have your drinking parties in the OFFICE?"

Now she was getting scared. "W-Well...ehm, you weren't around and, eh...What does it matter? The point is that you're all better now! Come here give the best lieutenant in the world a huuuug-!"

"Rangiku-san!" Momo interrupted as she entered the room again. She was worried about how her childhood friend would react if he kept getting reminded about his current condition, and also because Rangiku's hug could make his condition worse. Also, she didn't want to upset Rangiku by telling her about the most recent news on the venom around the boy's heart.

"It's okay, Hinamori," Hitsugaya said without turning to the said girl.

"Eh, aaaam I missing something?" Rangiku asked with a slur.

"Well, eh, Rangiku-san, about Hitsugaya-taicho condition..." And from there Momo explained to Rangiku about the current condition of her captain. She did her best to not to let her emotions get the better of her, it was a difficult task.

As she went into the devastating details, Rangiku's drunken haze died down. She was taking in everything her friend was telling her, unable to comprehend any of it. She found herself wishing she was still drunk, so that maybe she was just imagining what Momo was saying, or so that didn't feeling the painful emotions course throughout her. She knew one of them was going to die, she just wasn't prepared to accept that it was her captain...

Momo bit her lip as she finished, trying to hold back some tears. She didn't feel comfortable seeing the expression on Rangiku's face, but she still had the courage to look into the woman's now darkened grey eyes.

She slowly leaned back into the couch, concentrating her gaze on the table in front of her. Momo became anxious, slowly leaning forward to her friend. "Rangiku-san?"

She didn't respond at first, but after hearing her named called a second time, she looked up at Hinamori. She was about to let the tears all, but she held them back. _'__I __have __to __be __strong,__ I__ won__'__t __let __taicho __or __Hinamori __see __me__ like __this...I __just __wish__ that...none __of __this __were __true.__I __just __pray__ that __Unohana-taicho__ finds __a__ cure,__ and__ fast...!__ '_

"Taicho?...Are you-?" She stopped mid sentence when she looked to her captain. Momo followed the lieutenant's gaze. She gasped and stood up. "Hitsugaya-taicho, what are you doing?"

"Paperwork, what does it look like," he replied back calmly. He dipped the brush back into the ink well and brought it out again, writing on the paperwork and reports.

Both the women looked at him in shock.

"Taicho!"

"Hitsugaya-taicho!"

"What do you think you're doing?" they exclaimed in unison. The rushed to the desk standing in front of him and yelling at him.

They were acting as if he were doing something illegal. "I know you're not going to be doing this anytime soon, Matsumoto..."

Shock past over Rangiku face, before her lip quivered and it looked as though a small, dark raincloud had formed over her head. Momo worriedly patted her friend's shoulder. "Taicho has so little faith in me!" Rangiku wailed like a child.

"Well maybe if you had done all of the paperwork I told you to do in the past I would have had more faith in you!" Hitsugaya replied irritated.

The two continued to argue. Momo was astounded by this behaviour. They were acting as it were another day at the office, as if what she had just told Rangiku didn't even happen, as if...

...as if Hitsugaya wasn't going to die...

She knew then how to approach this day. She knew that she wanted to do all of the things that Hitsugaya wanted to do, but she also knew she had to treat this day as if it were a normal day. No matter what happened, she knew she couldn't treat today as if it were a crisis, as if it were the death of her childhood friend.

Yes, she knew that now. Today was going to be a precious day, but it was going to be treated like any other day...

Some part of her though, deep within the calmly beating heart in her chest, wanted to make this day known to whole Soul Society. Her reason and conscious dominated though, and told her that today was like any other day, that life didn't just revolve around her and her childhood friend...

"Hey, Hina-chan! Hello? Are you staring off into space?" The girl was startled out of her thoughts when was pulled back on to one of the couches. She shook her head looked around her. "Huh? What?"

"You and taicho are gonna try SAKE!" she exclaimed in delight. Rangiku's hand that had pulled her back left her shoulder.

She looked across to Hitsugaya, coming to sit next to the angry looking boy. "Hitsugaya-taicho?"

"I did _not_ agree to this, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya said.

"Then how come you're letting Hina-chan have some?" Rangiku said with a devilish grin. She knew she had won him over with that one.

"Wha? I never agreed to-!"

"But just a moment ago you said 'yes' to when I asked you about the idea! And then mumbled something else about a 'precious day' or something like that."

"I never..." she trailed off as she realised what the lieutenant was talking about. She was speaking her thoughts aloud, or at least, some of them. Now she had unconsciously agreed to drink sake!

But wait, what about Hitsugaya health? Maybe this was too risky...but Unohana never said anything about sake. She said he was healthy enough to eat and drink anything, just so long as it doesn't cause his heart to beat too fast. Was this too risky?

"Alrighty, now, because this is your first time trying this stuff, I'll only give you guys a little bit, 'kay?" The strawberry blonde lieutenant pulled two small dish cups out of nowhere and placed on in front of her annoyed captain and another in front of the nervous fifth division lieutenant.

She took the full bottle of sake and poured equal amounts of the sake into the cups. Once Rangiku was done, Momo's shaking hands came around the cup and lifted it up.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and sighed, taking his cup too.

Rangiku lifted the sake bottle high, leaning back into the couch as she did so. She grinned. "Alright, well, to taicho, for being the best taicho there is!" she cheered and lightly hit Hitsugaya and Momo's cups. She was then quick to star gulping down the remaining sake in the bottle.

Hitsugaya looked down at his cup with a raised eyebrow. _'__Remind __me __why__ I__'__m__ doing__ this__ again?__Then__ again, __I__ wonder __what __makes__ this__ stuff__ so__ addictive__ for __Matsumoto?__Wait,__why__ do __I__ want __to __know__ that? __Just __drink__ it __down__ already,__or__ else __she__'__s __not __gonna__ let __you __leave __this __office!__'_

For a brief second, an image of him being suffocated to Rangiku's chest sent a chill of horror down his spine. She'd do it, as a form of 'punishment'. It was for him, for other men it was absolute heaven...normally he wouldn't he frightened of her, all he had to do was lower down the temperature, but when she got him into one of those hugs...it was almost impossible to get out of them...

He slowly lifted the cup to his lips, taking a sip of the sake...

...only to cough it back out again. Drops of the sake landed all over the table, causing Rangiku and Momo to look at him in concern. "Hitsugaya-kun!"

She realised her mistake and inwardly kicked herself for saying him 'kun' instea of 'taicho'. Her main focus now though was her childhood friend, who was doubled over and coughed. "A-Are you okay?" She knew this was risky...

Hitsugaya looked at her, trying to reassure her that he was fine. When their eyes met, Momo felt relief course through her slowly. _'Thank goodness, he doesn't look like he's condition has gotten worse...'_

His eyes then turned to Rangiku, glaring at her and wheezily said "How...How can you...drink...that stuff?"

Momo frowned, not sure if she should try it now, but inwardly glas that the sake didn't appear to have a dramatic, life threatening effect on him. She looked back to her own cup, looking at her reflection in the sake. Now she was curious and scared. _'__I__'__m__ sure __it__ can__'__t__ be__ that __bad!__'_

With that, she closed her eyes, tipped the cup to her lips and began to drink the sake. Rangiku and Hitsugaya looked at her in surprise, stopping their argument about sake. Everything was silent, with only the sound of Hinamori gulping down the sake being heard.

After a few awkward moments, the gulping and slurping stopped, but the young lieutenant didn't move. Rangiku quirked up an eyebrow. "Hina-chan?"

The girl removed the cup form her lips, her whole face became bright red and she opened her eyes. They were hazy, and...drunk?

"Heeeeeeeeeeey...what're you staring aaaaat?" she said slurring.

Rangiku had dramatic happy tears running down her cheeks, now drunk again after having the whole bottle of sake. "Oh Hina-chan! You're drunk for the first time your life! And it only took one cup of sake!"

Hitsugaya had his mouth gapping open, his left eyebrow twitching madly and his eyes as wide in shock and annoyance.

Before he could speak up, Momo turned to him, a drunk smile on her face. "Hitsu...Oh wow, you look...Hitsu...can I...ask you somethin'?"

"Hey, what did I tell-?"

"How come you like Rangiku-saaaaaan so much?"

At that, Rangiku's ears perked up. "Whada mean?"

"Well, isn't obvious?" Hinamori said turning on Rangiku. She drunkenly glared at her. "I mean, if he's as old as he acts, then...Oh wait, I know what it is!"

She turned on Hitsugaya again, her drunken glare intensifying. "It's her boobs isn't it?"

Rangiku's eyes widened, jumping and nearly turning the table over at the very suggestion. "Taicho? Are you...a pervert?"

Hitsugaya let out a strangled, horrified sound. What had the sake done to his sweet Hinamori? He raised a hand up to try and calm her. "It's not like that -!"

"Just because I don't...those" – she pointed towards Rangiku's chest –"doesn't mean I'm not thaaaat childish! I saw you totalllly checking out Rangiku!"

At this, Rangiku covered up her chest and turned away from her captain. "Taichooooo! You pervert! How could you be checking me out?"

"Maybe it your boobs were smaller, he'd be looking at me..."

"They grow your bigger!"

"No, you shrink yours!"

And so began another argument, this time between the two women. Hitsugaya was ready to blow. He slapped a hand to his forehead and clenched his teeth. He knew this was a bad idea...Why didn't he stop her from doing it? Why did _he_ agree to this?

This was crazy, stupid and...the only time he'll ever drink this stuff. He frowned, think more on this. Is this why Rangiku had come up with the idea? She knew it was his last day now, and she...wanted him to try sake?

It was also the first time he had seen Hinamori drunk, which strangely seemed more amusing when he thought about it like this. He chuckled quietly as he saw the two of them arguing, but neither of the women noticed.

He knew that he wouldn't normally look at it in this light, nor would he have ever dared to try sake, but maybe, just maybe...deep down, the reason he agreed to do this wasn't because of Hinamori.

Maybe it was because he knew this was his only time to try this.

That's what today would be like.

Today would be his last day to try new things.

**Sorry for any spelling mistakes and grammatical errors I missed ^^; **

**I think towards the end there there was a little OOCness, but oh well. I guess this chapter was more of a comic chapter, probably because the subject matter is depressing, so I think we need a few light chapters ever now and then. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully the next update won't take as long :) Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated as always!**

**Thanks for reading**

**Keep writing!**

**-Warrayfinson**


	5. Fourth Hour : Timing

**AN: Hey everyone!**

**Long time, no update. Sorry about that guys, I a lot happened but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. So here's the fourth chapter, hope you enjoy it! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own this copy of 'Kill me, Heal me' by Skillet, this computer, the hairs on my head, this camera, this piece of gum, this copy of Microsoft Word and this black nail polish, Tite Kubo owns BLEACH.**

The Last 24 Hours

**Fourth Hour: Timing**

Momo had fallen into a drunken, hazy sleep only minutes later. Rangiku, still drunk, ended up marching out the office in the hopes of escaping Momo's 'wrath' against her. Hitsugaya only rolled his eyes and waited for his childhood friend to wake up.

He laid her on the couch while he sat on the floor in front of her. He had his back turned to her, leaning against the plush couch and sighed.

His last day was turning into a bit of an adventure, a crazy one. That thought somehow calmed him. It made him think that this was just like any other day, any other crazy, hectic day. He closed his eyes. Despite the hectic events around him his mind was so calm. The weight in his chest was inescapable of course, but in this moment he felt lighter.

A strange ambiance…

'_Master?'_

He snapped his eyes open.

He didn't see the office setting around him anymore but instead the icy planes and the cold air whipping around him. He quickly stood up. "Hyourinmaru?"

"_Master…"_

The boy turned around to look behind him. There, stretching to the dark skies and looking down at him with red eyes, was the ice dragon Hyourinmaru. His zanpukto spirit and close companion. Hitsugaya's frown deepened. "What's the meaning of this?"

The dragon titled his head to the side, and slowly leaned down to his master. _"You act no different even when death approaches…"_

At that, Hitsugaya's expression softened. He realized he wouldn't be just taking his own life when he died, but his zanpukto's as well. Hyourinmaru was his companion, always, even when the boy didn't know his name.

He reached his hand out to the dragon, silently asking him to come closer. Hyourinmaru obeyed and leaned his head forward. Hitsugaya took a step forward and touched the dragon's jaw. "I'm sorry it had to end like this, Hyourinmaru. I only wish we could have had a more honourable death"

"_I'm not,"_ the dragon responded _"I am…able to accept this death. I would rather die with you in battle, but this death is also worthy enough. You were willing to sacrifice your life for her, and that, master, is more than enough reason to die for."_

Hitsugaya was surprised at the words that had come from his zanpukto spirit. The burning red eyes looked back at him with such fierce loyalty. This dragon was so loyal to him, such a proud creature. He closed his eyes reflectively and spoke quietly "Thank you...I am truly proud of you, and I will never be able to repay you for this."

"_I will come to you again closer to our death," _the dragon replied, moving away from his master's hand. _"Hinamori is awakening, and I know that your time together is limited. Spend what time you have left with her, master, and I will be more than happy."_

The boy nodded, closing his eyes again. He felt the calmness take over him again. The cold temperature was gone in an instant and he was left in darkness. He felt the warmer temperature of his office touch his skin. He heard a faint grumbling voice.

He opened his eyes. His head turned towards the waking girl. She half opened her eyes, softly groaning as she fully woke up. "Ow...my head..." she groaned as she put a hand to her forehead. "Wh...What happened?"

"You were drunk," Hitsugaya said bluntly.

Hearing his voice, Hinamori attempted to sit up, only succeeding in half sitting and half lying. "Hitsugaya...kun?"

He noted the 'kun' but chose to ignore it. She'd done well to keep his title at the end of his name for this long. "I knew it was a bad idea. Rangiku didn't help..." he grumbled the last part, half turning his head towards where Rangiku exited.

Hinamori pulled herself up, slouching lazily on the couch but keep her head turned toward Hitsugaya. "I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-kun...I shouldn't have...done anything."

He shook his head. "Baka..."

She half smiled at his response. His voice sounded forgiving to her, or maybe the hangover was playing tricks on her ears. Though her memory was fuzzy, she seemed to recall some of the events before, like when she drank the sake, how Hitsugaya couldn't stand it, the fact he was taking it because it was his last day on-

"Eh, Shiro-chan!" She sat up too quickly, and dizziness overcame her. Hitsugaya, being on high alert, was ready to catch her as she fell back again. He slowly eased her back on to the couch. "Take it easy, baka! Don't get sick in my office, I'm trying to keep it clean!" He couldn't count the number of times Rangiku threw up in office after drinking so much. That was in the beginning, but for a while now, she was so use to drinking she hardly ever threw up unless she was sick beforehand.

"B-But Hitsugaya-kun..." she said in a whisper "We have to keep going. If we lose track of time...you won't be able to do the things you wanted to do."

He sighed quietly, just under his breath. "And all you can think about it that..." He looked at her directly in the eyes. He was tempted to smile because of the look he saw in them. Her concern was the most evident emotion in her brown eyes, but there was, and always had been, that underlining warmth under the brown, tucked between the gaps of colour. It was something his eyes held the opposite of. His had the icy cold undertone. He only emphasised this with the frown.

He wondered if he only did it as a form of defending himself from strangers, or from men who wanted to hurt him back in the Rukongai. To signal to anyone who approached him 'back off!'.

So why is it she wasn't afraid?

Why did she approached him when they first met?

Why did he start talking to her when she warmly greeted him?

He didn't know the answers to these questions, and often contemplated their answers. The conclusion he usually came to was that he was lonely, that he wanted someone to talk to. She was the only person who had approached him and treated him normally. That smile she wore around hadn't changed for years either and it only added to the warmth in her eyes.

The warmth inwardly frightened him at first, because he never knew that a person could hold so much warmth in their eyes. All the eyes that pierced through him, locked on to anything they could find to accuse him of being a freak, were cold, relentless and harsh. She was the pair set of eyes that looked upon him with kindness and warmth, and with the genuine compassion for another soul.

Hitsugaya knew that Hinamori would never realise how grateful he was when he approached her.

"Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Hm?" She was starting to sound better. He was right in giving her some time to rest while he went off into his thoughts. He didn't think of how awkward it might have been for her that he was staring into her eyes for the past several minutes. She didn't appear to be uncomfortable.

She blinked, and kept her eyes half open. "Do you want to…go see Granny?"

He turned his head away from her, contemplating the idea. Granny only other person who had accepted him, who had kept him company until Hinamori came along. If it weren't for her, he would have starved to death, cold and alone on the streets.

He felt his heart quicken in a strange anxiety. Granny didn't know yet, he hadn't informed her about his condition. He wasn't sure how she'd take the news. It was ironic when he thought about it. He bitterly chuckled in his mind, keeping it away from being vocalized.

It should be the other way around. He should be the one burying her in the ground, not her burying him.

The bitter thought soon vanished as he realized who he was talking about. Despite the truth in the words, he felt as though the words were nothing but a bitter curse towards the old woman. She had raised him, took her under her wing and cherished him as a son or grandson.

He held nothing bitter towards this woman, he never would.

"Well, you know it was just a suggestion," Hinamori said anxiously upon not hearing an instant reply. "I mean, it's not like we have to go see her or anything, if you're not comfortable-"

"Let's go."

Hinamori gasped in surprise. After a moment she smiled at her childhood friend. "She'll be happy to see you again. I visited her last week, she really misses you."

**Sorry if you guys felt the chapter was too short, I just didn't quite know what else to put into this chapter. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this! :D**

**If you have time, reviews and comments are always appreciated! :) **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Keep writing!**

**-Warrayfinson**


	6. Fifth Hour: Elder

**AN: Hey everyone!**

**A quicker update this time, thank goodness :) I apoogse in advance if Granny is acting a bit strange I' be honest, I don't know her character very well, because I only have the anime and manga chapter to go by. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter :D**

**Disclaimer: I own this IPod, all the copies of the songs on this IPod, this computer, this lamp, this glass, that phone over there and this sore leg from yesterday run, Tite Kubo owns BLEACH.**

The Last 24 Hours

**Fifth Hour: Elder**

They stood outside of the humble house.

Momo smiled brightly as she gazed upon her old house. "When was the last time you visited Granny?"

Hitsugaya looked from her to house, keeping a frowning exterior despite his powerful emotions underneath. "Months ago. I owed her this visit, I suppose…Let's go."

They both walked forward to the house. As they walked, Hitsugaya felt an emotion that he had every time he approached the house. Sometimes people would stare at him and Hinamori when they visited Granny and approached the house, mainly because they were shinigami.

However, Hitsugaya ignored their gazes, only ever noticing them whenever he looked back, which he rarely ever did. He felt, with each step he took, a layer of who he was unravelled. His position as captain, the respect his subordinate held for him, the fights he had won, the missions he had went on, his training at the Shinigami Academy, and his zanpukto didn't seem to exist anymore. They were left behind in the sands and grains under his feet. He went back to a time when none of that existed or matter, to a time when he came back from errands and days out to this house. They were the only times he ever left the house.

They reached the front door, and the feeling within him only intensified as he heard shuffling through the thick sliding door. He thought the emotion was nostalgia, but there were other emotions laced within him, and so he was never sure what this feeling ever was.

Hinamori knocked on the door lightly. The shuffling got louder and closer. A lock was adjusted and the door slid open afterwards.

Hinamori's smile was positively beaming at the sight of the old woman "Granny!"

The old woman's face, with only a pleasant smile before, turned to one of surprise. "Oh, I didn't expect to see you two here today! Wow, this certainly is a surprise…"

"Sorry, we probably should have gave you more notice, Granny," Momo said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

As if noticing the girl's embarrassment, the old woman smiled again, putting a warm hand on the girl's shoulder. "No harm done. Welcome back you two!"

Momo briefly bowed her head. "Thank you, Granny." She walked past the old woman into the house. "Oh, I see you have tea already started."

Hinamori disappeared into the house somewhere, leaving a surprised Hitsugaya and happy Granny alone. "It's been quite a while, Hitsugaya-kun."

The said boy couldn't help but smile despite the current situation he was in. "Yes, I've been meaning to visit but work held me back. I apologise." The weight in his chest got heavier. He only just realised that for this entire hour, he would have to lie to Granny. But it was so she wouldn't become disheartened by the truth, and he kept that thought promenade in his mind.

His grandmother shook her head. "Polite as ever. Now, come in, and I'll prepare the tea." She shuffled towards the area that would have been the kitchen. Hitsugaya slid the door closed behind him, looking around the house as if there was something new about it since the last time he came. Light filter in through the open door that led to the balcony where he and Hinamori use to sit on in the lazy afternoons and mornings before she went to the Shinigami Academy.

The smile faded, replaced with an expression of reflection of a time long ago. He came and sat at the small table nearby, waiting for the tea. He watched the old woman as she prepared the tea on the other side of the room.

He frowned as he closely observed everything about her, from the way she moved, old and frail, to the deep and long wrinkles in her skin. She was old, some would even say ancient. How was it she was able to stand on those thin legs? How was she able to make the tea still without causing herself harm?

She was this old, and she could still live her life normally.

He wanted that, he really did. He wanted to be able to reach her age, old and frail, and maybe only ever getting up and moving when he needed to. He wanted to have led a life filled with honour, victory and history. He wanted to spend his days sitting by an open window, writing calligraphy or doing something to calm his nerves.

Next, an old woman came and sat with him, whose hair was tied up by a familiar blue ribbon, and lightly kiss his wrinkled, aged cheek…

He snapped out of his trance and frowned. He had these visions, rare but present, and often he wondered how long it would take for him to reach that age, but he had never imagined Hinamori sitting next to him. He never imagined growing old with her, or have her by his side when they were old either...

"Here you go, Hitsugaya-kun."

He looked to the clay cup that was placed in front of him. Steam rose from the dark liquid within, and the aroma of sweet herbs and spices filled his nostrils. He took the cup between his hands and bowed his head towards the old woman who now sat opposite him. "Thank you…"

As he took his first sip of the sweet tea, Hinamori came out of the room that they once shared as children. "Shiro-chan, I found something we haven't seen in a long time!"

Hearing her call him 'Shiro-chan' in this house sent a jolt through him. He kept a neutral expression as he turned his head towards her. "It's Hitsugaya-taicho, bedwetter."

She froze, and it was like a small cloud of misery formed over her head. Realization dawned on her. "Oh no, I'm supposed to be calling you 'Hitsugaya-taicho'! When did I stop? How did I forget? I'm sorry Shiro-chan!"

Silence filled the room. Hinamori was bowing in shame, and had only just realized she had called her childhood friend by his nickname again. She inwardly groaned in disgrace. "Sorry, Granny, Hitsugaya-taicho…"

Granny only smiled and made a gesture for her to join them. Hitsugaya shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Baka bed-wetter" he muttered under his breath.

Momo joined Hitsugaya's side of the table, now smiling and taking her clay cup of tea. She quietly drank from the cup while Hitsugaya sipped occasionally from his. Granny looked from one to the other. She frowned, the smile falling along with the wrinkles around her mouth. "You two are awfully quiet…"

They both looked at her. Hitsugaya's frown disappeared and his expression became neutral with his eyebrows turn upwards slightly. Momo couldn't hold back her expression of guilt. "Apologises, Granny, we've been…It's hard to explain."

Hitsugaya, though calm on the outside, began to wonder if Hinamori would tell Granny about his condition. His heart raced, but he remained quiet and the poison didn't tighten itself. Hinamori didn't pick up where she left off, so he decided to shape her original statement. "We recently went on a mission that left both of drained of spiritual pressure. We've been trying to regain some of it since then."

Momo looked at his with wide eyes, but didn't give away that he had told him a lie. Hitsugaya didn't look at her, only staring at the old woman in front of him. She still held a frown in her brow, but it was a different frown. It was a frown of concern. Granny released her hold around her cup of tea.

"You both need to rest then," she said with some authority "The Soul Society can't have the both of you unfit for battle. In order to fight, you must have moments of rest. This doesn't just include sleeping, but also enjoying those moments when you eat, drink, write and even walk. Relish these moments, as they will be your only ones of peace."

The two stared at her with acknowledgement. They understood her words; she had told them something similar when Hitsugaya had visited her after he was accept into the thirteen court guard squads. Back then he was amazed by the older woman's knowledge, and still it amazed him. Hinamori was the same.

"You should both know by now that I am proud of you," she continued, this time using a hint of the motherly love she felt for both of them. "I never would have thought that you would both grow up to become such high officials. I hear stories about both of you, about your lives and your missions. I smile and stand with pride knowing that you are living a life of honour and high regard…"

Hinamori bowed her head slightly, a slow, happy smile crossing her features. Hitsugaya looked Granny with an expression that was familiar to her. It was the same expression he held after he had told her he wanted to join the court guard squads and she had expressed her happiness at the news. However, the meaning behind that expression had changed. He now held this expression for the reason of not being able to see this woman again. This would be the last time she would see him, the last time he would gaze upon the woman who had raised him from a young age. The only other person to have accepted him without hesitation…

The group ended up recounting of the old times. To those times when the only major problems was when Momo wet the bed and the attitudes of people towards Hitsugaya. Inwardly, on the edges of his mind, Hitsugaya wished he could go back to those times. A childish dream, the thought only played in the back of his mind, lingering at the edges, but still there.

They recalled times of happiness, strife, grief, sadness, anger, joy, anxiety, heartbreak, loss, and endurance. All of these moments, old and recent in their history, were a part of them. Hinamori and Hitsugaya's history were melded and meshed together by a thin thread of fate and destiny, even if they didn't know it. The thread had wound itself around their hearts, minds and souls, and bound them to each other. It bounded their fates, their wishes and their dreams together, to create the history that they remembered, to create the emotions and memories that they were recalling at this very moment.

There were small drops at the bottom of the cup by the time they were finished. Realising that time was escaping them, Hinamori quickly but politely told the old woman they had to go. Knowing her intention, Hitsugaya followed suit.

"Thanks again, Granny" Momo said respectfully.

She smiled, her wrinkles curving upward with the action. "I look forward to seeing you both very soon, I hope…"

Hitsugaya couldn't smile. Whenever she would say that as they left, he would look over his shoulder and smile at her. He couldn't. He couldn't look at her smiling face without letting a fracture of emotion show through his eyes. Momo had composer, being able to smile back at Granny "Yes, we'll come by as soon as we can again."

And with that they left. As soon as they stepped off the porch, Hitsugaya felt the qualities the Soul Society had built on him return, clasping themselves to his mind, soul and body. His captaincy, respect and honour all came clung back to him. They walked away from the house in silence and without looking at each other. When they were at a considerable distance, he did what he thought he would never do.

He turned his head back.

He looked back at his past, where his origins took place. The house stood as part of his history, as part of the story of how the tenth division captain had risen to the ranks. It would have been part of a typical tale of a tragic samurai, coming from lowest of conditions to rise to honourable ranks of those he once admired.

Considering that some of his subordinates had come from some of the worst districts, Hitsugaya always knew he was better off than most of the shinigami he had trained with in the academy. Memories of the house, of his childhood, filtered before his very own eyes.

He, although an outcast, was fortunate enough to have been raised by a kind, sweet old woman and have Hinamori be his support and only true friend, at his side, always. He saw memories of good times and bad, of the times that had just been talking about. He knew that Hinamori had deliberately raised the memories again, had recounted as many as she could, and it was all for him. He thought he would have been upset or angry at her for doing that, but no, he was happy. Sorrowful, but happy…

He turned his head away, keeping the beautiful image of the house in his mind. They turned into an alleyway.

He stopped when he heard the sounds of quiet sobbing. The captain turned around to his childhood friend, shocked to find her whimpering and sobbing. Tears fell from her eyes to the dirt ground below their feet.

"Oi, what are-?"

"That was…That was the last time," Momo said with remorse "That was the last time, you and Granny…will ever see each other! It's…It's so unfair! I…I was suppose to die before you, so was Granny! Why is it…No!"

And she gave into the full extent of her sorrow, collapsing on the ground and cover her face with her hands. He only watched at first, looking at the crying girl in shock. It took him a moment to realise why she was acting like this. She wasn't crying out of her own sorrow, out of the pity of the situation…

He knelt down to the crying girl, not caring about the people around them who stared as they walked past the alleyway. His arms came around her shaking shoulders, and immediately she reacted to his hug. She leaned her head against his shoulder, dampening the white haori the moment her face met the material. She sobbed and clung to him, as if telling him not to go yet, to stay alive.

This only confirmed what he thought. She was crying _for_ him so that he shouldn't have to shed any tears. She was leaking out the tears that he would have shed sooner or later. His sorrow was kept hidden under his frowning exterior, but if he had the chance, he might have cried too. She cried these tears for him though, so that he wouldn't have to go through the pain of shedding them shamefully.

She would cry every last tear for him, until the hour they had to part.

**Well, that's the end of chapter five. Thankfully this chapter was slightly longer ^^; Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated! :D**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Keep writing!**

**-Warrayfinson**


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